


Key to My Abyss

by gehirnstuerm



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: M/M, post 1x20
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-12
Updated: 2011-03-12
Packaged: 2017-10-16 21:53:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/169740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gehirnstuerm/pseuds/gehirnstuerm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something's off with the teacher since Isobel left. Damon decides to investigate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Key to My Abyss

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written and posted in June 2010.

The curtains in Alaric's bedroom billow softly in the nightly breeze. Damon leans against the window sill, his eyes focused on the bed or, more precisely, on the figure huddled underneath the blankets. He's come here to annoy Alaric or maybe get in his pants - probably both - but the teacher is already asleep. Damon could just wake him or even leave again, but for some reason Damon enjoys watching Alaric sleep. Which is kind of creepy, even for him and this thought amuses him greatly. Lurking in the shadows of someone's bedroom is typically frowned upon, but Damon has noticed that you can get away with a great many things if you used to kill people just for the heck of it. Everything else kind of pales in comparison.

Still, Alaric will be so pissed when he finds out. Damon grins. Maybe he should leave him a little note!

 

 _Dear Ric,_

 _There's a puddle of drool on your pillow._

 _Love, Damon_

 

Alaric will disapprove, there will be gnashing of teeth and bitching until they end up in bed; that's how it goes these days and Damon loves it. It still seems kind of weird, but he really likes the teacher. He has a good sense of humor - that is, when he's not being extremely grouchy - he's ballsy and never one to back down from a challenge. Alaric's quite capable for a human too, he throws a wicked punch. Damon smiles fondly at the memory.

And then there's the fact that both of them have been screwed over by the women they loved. If this isn't something to bond over, Damon doesn't know what is.

Thinking about it now, he realizes that Alaric hasn't said anything about Isobel since she left town again. Granted, with everything that has been going on lately there hasn't been much time or opportunity for chit-chat, but it strikes Damon as a little odd nonetheless.

He takes a closer look at the sleeping figure in front of him and frowns. Alaric doesn't look exactly peaceful. The muscles in his face are tense and Damon can see his eyeballs move rapidly underneath his eyelids. Interesting. From what he's witnessed, the other man is usually more the sleeps-like-a-rock kind of guy, but maybe that's just after drinking and/or sex.

Damon's curiosity is piqued.

He would really like to know what the teacher is dreaming of. Of course he could try to get inside his head... but snooping around in Alaric's mind like that doesn't seem right, even though Damon still isn't entirely sure why he should even care what's right or wrong. He decides to leave anyway, but not without scribbling something on a piece of paper and placing it strategically on Alaric's pillow, right next to his face. With a satisfied grin Damon disappears through the open bedroom window.

 

*

 

Things are difficult these days, on so many levels, so Damon thinks he has every right to be a little sulky. All the trouble and chaos caused by Katherine's startling return and her tendency not to keep a very low profile, the Jeremy-drama, his own feelings for Elena plus the tension between Stefan and him due to said feelings for Elena... it's all a little bit much at the moment.

Squabbling with Stefan isn't as fun as it used to be, because he's much more sensitive to mentions of “their” girlfriend nowadays and tends to scowl even more than usual. Having their previous shared girlfriend around for a while didn't help at all. Sometimes Stefan even threatens him, which was fun the first couple of times, but now it just adds to sour Damon's mood. He can't really blame his little brother, even though Elena and Katherine are as different as day and night. There's no need for Stefan to worry. Yet.

Damon pulls a face. Things were much easier when he didn't care for anything but his own agenda, but there's no turning back now. Actually giving a shit is a very foreign feeling and it makes him highly uncomfortable, which is why sitting in front of the fireplace with a bottle of bourbon seems like a really good idea tonight.

The original plan had been spending the night at the Grill, preferably in company of Alaric, but the teacher had failed to show up. This had made Damon even sulkier, because he'd actually been looking forward to a little chat with Alaric. They should have a lot to talk about, what with both Isobel and Katherine returning to their lives and messing things up spectacularly. But it's hard to get a hold of the human these days – if you don't show up in his bedroom or practically stalk him, that is.

There are footsteps in the hall and instantly a grin spreads over Damon's face. “Hello Ric,” he says before turning his head to look at the man entering the parlor. Alaric looks slightly pissed and Damon has to congratulate himself on his little prank with the note on the human's pillow. After all, it had led Alaric straight towards the boarding house and hereby served to make Damon's night infinitely better.

“What were you doing in my bedroom?” Alaric asks without even returning his greeting, annoyance coloring his words. But Damon doesn't sense any real anger, which is strangely disappointing. He'd expected a little more.

Damon smiles sweetly. “I was watching you drool on your pillow. I think I told you so in my note.”

Instead of answering, Alaric just lets out a dissatisfied grunt and drops next to Damon on the couch. “You know,” he grumbles, “I think there is a law against creeping around in other people's bedrooms like that.”

“Oh, a law!” Damon snorts. “I'm sorry. In that case it won't happen again.”

Alaric glares at him disapprovingly, so Damon flashes him a bright smile and holds up the whiskey bottle. “Bourbon?”

 

They've sat in companionable silence for a while when Alaric finally speaks.

“What's with the booze today? Drowning your sorrows or drinking for fun?”

“Make an educated guess,” Damon drawls and Alaric snorts softly in response.

“What about you?” Damon tries. “How you're holding up, with Isobel and everything?”

“I'm fine,” Alaric says with a little shrug. “I'm through with Isobel. I really am. The woman I married is gone; I have to deal with that.”

To Damon's puzzlement he says it mildly though, without a sting and without bitterness.

“Oh really?” Damon frowns. “After over two years of searching and plotting you're over her? Just like that?” He snaps his fingers for emphasis.

But Alaric just shakes his head and smiles a little. “I don't know, man. I've seen how much she has changed and now my heart is free of her. I guess, it's easier this way.”

Damon doesn't buy it. Alaric wouldn't be able to be over Isobel from one day to the next.

Sure, he'd sworn off searching for her once before, but that decision had been accompanied by a serious meltdown. But looking at the teacher's face Damon can see that he really means it. His face is open and completely honest, which is even more confusing.

“Whatever you say, man,” Damon offers, but he isn't satisfied at all.

He can't shake the feeling that something's off with Alaric. This feeling strengthens when the other man takes his leave early - because it's a school day. Coming from a guy who likes to grade papers at a bar with a drink in his hand, this sounds highly suspicious.

He should investigate, Damon decides with a grin. Mr. Saltzman will be his special little project for the next couple of days.

 

*

 

Trailing humans isn't exactly a challenge. If Damon doesn't want to be noticed, there's no chance for Alaric to know he's there, simple as that.

So far Alaric has been doing perfectly normal things for a regular small-town history teacher – except that, well, he really isn't a regular small-town history teacher. And yet, he's spent two nights watching sports on TV and has gone to bed after not more than one bottle of beer. He's been out on a date with Elena's aunt, too. As far as Damon knows, things had cooled off a little between the two of them when Alaric found out about Isobel being not so much dead as undead, but apparently now they're seeing each other again. Dinner and a movie, the classic. No sleep-over, but Damon witnessed a nice little make-out session in the teacher's car. Damon isn't sure what to think of this thing with Jenna, but as long as he gets his share of Alaric's special attention, he probably doesn't mind. Or they all could have fun together! Damon likes the idea, but Alaric would probably object. The human can be very uptight about certain things.

Watching the teacher doing all these mundane things almost convinces Damon to leave the whole thing alone. Alaric seems happy enough after all, but Damon's instincts still tell him something wrong.

The fact that Alaric has actually agreed to go bowling with a couple of boring teachers certainly supports this theory. Because seriously, bowling? Highly suspicious in Damon's opinion. He can't even imagine vampire-staking and vervain-dart wielding Alaric Saltzman in bowling shoes – and truth to be told, he doesn't want to.

So it's official. Something's wrong with the human. Alaric has moved on way too quickly, the change was way too sudden. Damon knows him pretty well by know and he also knows that Alaric isn't much better at letting things go than he is. Not when it comes to love.

There's no way in hell that he would accept Isobel's change just like that, without putting up a fight and trying to get through to what's left of the woman he loved.

It's almost as if someone has flicked a switch... and maybe someone has.

The idea takes more solid form in Damon's head, when he notices that there really is a downside to Alaric's “My heart is free of her”-demeanor. Apparently the troubled sleeping from the other night hasn't been a singular occurrence, because when he visits Alaric's bedroom again, it's just like the last time.

The other man's sleeping features look tense, his fists clench and unclench around the already rumpled sheets and his lips move soundlessly.

By now Damon is pretty sure that Alaric has been compelled.

He wants to be sure though and the easiest way to confirm his suspicions is, of course, taking a peek into Alaric's head.

Slowly Damon walks over to the other man's bed and sits down on the edge of the mattress. He watches him for a moment, mentally preparing for what he's about to do. But Damon feels... uncomfortable. He'd never thought twice about compelling someone or getting into someone's head before. For a vampire messing with people's minds comes as naturally as drinking blood, after all. It's easy, convenient and certainly nothing to lose sleep over.

But it's different now. Even though he has a good reason, it just doesn't feel right.

Damon curses himself. This is ridiculous. The one time he doesn't mean any harm, he's feeling guilty about it? Damon appreciates the irony, but it's annoying nonetheless. Don't people say that the end justifies the means? With that thought in mind, he touches Alaric's arm lightly and concentrates.

Getting into people's dreams isn't too hard. Sadly, vampires can't read minds, they can only warp them, but getting into an unconscious person's head is much easier.

Just taking a look at someone's dream is rarely helpful though, because there are only flashes, images and snippets of whatever scene is playing inside their mind. Also, most people dream a lot of boring nonsense and it's usually less interesting than one would think. Influencing dreams, sending images is a different matter, though. That can be a lot of fun.

But none of this is Damon's intention now. He just wants to take a short look - and he quickly succeeds. After only a moment, Damon makes a hasty retreat from Alaric's dream. He's seen enough.

 

“You are not going to remember this. I loved you. I did. And when I think about what I gave up it hurts, but now - your heart is free of me. It's easier this way."

 

Damon sits back and takes a deep breath. He doesn't know why, but seeing Alaric's deleted memory has left him a little shaken. Sure, he'd already suspected Isobel to be the culprit and he'd also guessed that she'd compelled Alaric with the purpose to set him free.

But Damon hadn't expected to see Isobel like Alaric had seen her that day, completely unguarded and without any pretense. He hadn't been prepared for all the sadness and regret in her eyes.

It looks like he's not the only vampire whose emotions are hard to shake off – Damon probably shouldn't be surprised.

Not that he'd ever really stopped to think about it before, but he'd just assumed that Alaric couldn't have meant a lot to Isobel, just like he himself hadn't meant as much to Katherine as he'd thought.

But apparently he'd been wrong. Isobel might have been desperate to become a vampire for some reason, but she really loved her husband – and apparently she still does.

This is really fucked up, Damon realizes and rubs a hand across his face. Of course he doesn't regret turning Isobel – she begged him to after all and he neither knew nor cared whom or what she left behind. But from today's point of view, knowing that he played a vital role in this whole mess makes Damon more uneasy than he'd like to admit.

 

*

 

“You've come all this way just to brood in my bedroom?” Alaric suddenly says, startling Damon from his thoughts. The teacher's voice is still hoarse with sleep as he props himself up on one elbow. Damon can feel a grin spreading over his face.

“Oh, I'm just thinking of new and inventive ways to molest you.”

Alaric laughs and lets himself fall back to the mattress. “Give me your best shot!”

Of course Damon doesn't need to be told twice. Quickly he gets rid of most of his clothes and slips underneath the covers.

Damon moves closer until he's pressed up against the other man's back. He slips a hand underneath his t-shirt and buries his nose in the crook of Alaric's neck. The human's body is still warm with sleep and Damon takes a moment to breathe in his scent.

“I hate to break it to you, but this hardly qualifies as molesting. This is cuddling,” Alaric says softly, turning his head a little.

“Shut up,” Damon murmurs in return, before sliding one hand down the teacher's sweat pants.

 

Alaric isn't so wrong though. It is different than the couple of times before. For one thing, they're actually in bed this time, not on a couch, not on the floor or even in an alley. For another thing, they're not in a hurry now, so there is no hasty fumbling and ripping at clothes. As fun and passionate their previous encounters had been, Damon really welcomes the opportunity to really explore the other man's body for a change. Because, seriously, it would be crime not to.

Alaric is still a little sleepy, his hair sticks up in weird places and Damon thinks he looks kind of adorable like that. Not that Damon would ever say that aloud. The teacher always turns him on, no matter what he does - that goes without saying. But right in this moment, the urge to kiss him is slightly stronger than the one to pound him into the mattress. So when Alaric turns around to face him, Damon gently slides a hand in the his hair to bring their mouths together.

The kiss is slow and deep and he doesn't think they've ever kissed like that before. Even Damon doesn't mind a little vanilla once in a while, so he smiles against Alaric's lips when the other man makes a little sound of approval.

After long moments of touching, tasting and kissing they finally fuck, sweat-slicked bodies rocking into each other without haste. It doesn't take long until Alaric's hips buck as orgasm hits him. Damon follows soon after and they both collapse boneless on the bed.

 

It takes a while until Damon has recovered enough to think straight. The first thing he notices is that Alaric has already passed out, which causes a self-satisfied grin to spread over Damon's face.

Sex is and has always been the best sleeping pill in the world. For a moment he contemplates leaving at once – or at least in the foreseeable future, as soon as his legs start working again - but he decides against it. It's not like he could take off without waking Alaric and that's something Damon certainly doesn't want – not after all the work.

With a smirk he looks down at the other man who has rolled over in his sleep and thrown one arm across Damon's waist. Now Alaric's snoring softly against his shoulder. Mr. Saltzman is obviously a cuddly sleeper and Damon makes a mental note to torture him with this knowledge later. For now he just tries to make himself as comfortable as possible – not an easy task with a sleeping history teacher draped around him.

But Damon can't sleep anyway. Investigating the “What's wrong with Alaric?” mystery had been fun, but now it's just one more thing that makes his life complicated. He doesn't have a clue what to do with this new-found knowledge. What would a person with a conscience do in his place? Damon has next to no experience with this kind of thing. There is a reason why he usually leaves it to Stefan to drop bombshells like that. Stefan is the sensitive guy – he would know what to do. Summoning him now would be kind of awkward though, Damon thinks with a smirk. But seriously, should he tell Alaric? Would it do any good or would it just send the teacher back to square one? After all he seems to be content enough – most of the time, that is.

But Damon also remembers what Jeremy had told him about the pain that was still there even though he didn't remember why, an emptiness that couldn't be filled, because he didn't remember what had caused it. The emo-boy had been very keen on knowing the truth... and Alaric strikes him as the kind of guy that would want to know, too. Damon groans as he realizes what he has to do.

Caring for people sucks.

 

*

 

Damon has been drifting in and out of sleep for a couple of hours with the teacher sound asleep by his side. The sun has already risen when Alaric finally stirs and blinks up at him with a sleepy smile that Damon can't help returning.

“Morning,” Alaric murmurs before sitting up and stretching his back.

Suppressing a smirk, Damon takes a moment to admire the view. “I trust you slept well?”

“Like a baby,” Alaric answers. He stifles a yawn and turns to pull on a t-shirt, much to Damon's dismay.

“Yeah. You can thank me later.” Damon leans back against the headboard, his arms folded behind his head. “Hey, where are you going?”

“Coffee,” is all Alaric says before he gets up and pads out of the room barefoot.

Damon watches him go, but isn't in a hurry to follow. He wanted to talk to Alaric first thing in the morning, but now he's quite grateful for the delay. The teacher should at least be properly awake for this sort of conversation, he figures.

When the distinct smell of coffee reaches the bedroom, Damon gives up. With a sigh he climbs out of the bed and pulls on his jeans.

 

*

 

Alaric is sitting at the kitchen counter with a coffee mug in his hand when Damon finally joins him. The human greets him with a little half-smile and pushes a second mug over the counter towards Damon. “This is unusual. I mean, you being here in the morning,” Alaric remarks casually, but he throws him a questioning glance.

“Tired of my company already?” Damon tries lamely, but Alaric just lifts an eyebrow.

He's quick on the uptake for someone who practically sleepwalked into the kitchen just a few minutes ago, Damon has to give him that.

Realizing there's no sense in stalling, he clears his throat. The direct approach is probably as good – or bad, in this case – as any and there really isn't a good timing for this kind of conversation anyway; so he might as well get it over and done with right then and there.

“You've been dreaming of Isobel lately, haven't you?”

The other man visibly freezes, but doesn't say anything. “Listen -,” Damon starts, but he's interrupted by Alaric.

“She's compelled me,” he says to Damon's surprise. “Isobel. She's done something with my mind.”

When Damon just nods, the other man continues. “I noticed something was different, but I couldn't put my finger on it. But then the dreams started...” Alaric looks down and swallows. “I.. I don't really remember the details, they keep slipping away. There's Isobel standing in front of me and … I think she touches my face, but I don't know what she says.” He shakes his head sadly and tilts his head up to look at Damon. “What has she done? Do you know?”

Damon hesitates, but Alaric grabs his arm and looks at him intently. “Come on, man. I need to know.”

Damon sets down his coffee mug and sighs. “Apparently Isobel compelled you to move on. She wanted your heart to be free of her.” He pauses to watch the other man's reaction. But Alaric just stares at the counter top and rubs a hand across his face.

“I guess you were right,” Damon continues quietly. “The whole 'I don't give a shit' thing is just an act – at least when it comes to you. She just didn't want you to know there was still something of the old Isobel left.”

“That's why she looked so sad in my dreams,” Alaric murmurs mostly to himself.

 

Neither of them says a word for a long while – at least it seems like a very long stretch of silence to Damon. Shouldn't doing the right thing feel better somehow? If it always involves feeling helpless and kind of queasy, Damon doesn't really want to try it again.

“What now?” Damon asks when he can't stand the silence anymore, but Alaric just shrugs in response.

“Nothing, I guess,” he says, seemingly composed, but Damon notices a little edge to his voice. “I'll have to move on eventually.” For a moment, Damon is really worried he's made the wrong decision, but then Alaric smiles at him briefly. “But it's good to know I've been right about Isobel all along.”

They fall silent again and this time it's Alaric who speaks up.

“How did you know, anyway?” he asks and Damon quickly looks away, feeling both guilty and a little embarrassed.

“You were weird. Less broody than you were supposed to be, considering the circumstances. And then all the tossing and turning in your sleep... I thought it couldn't hurt to take a closer look. ” Damon gestures vaguely and trails off, hoping the teacher won't ask any further questions. He really doesn't want to break to him how exactly he acquired the information. But the other man seems to be satisfied with his answer, at least for now.

To Damon's immense surprise, he can see a grin tugging at the corner of Alaric's mouth and if he's not entirely mistaken, it's a smug one.

“So you were concerned for my well-being. Touching!”

Damon rolls his eyes and tries to hide his smile behind his coffee mug. “I wonder why. You were drooling on my shoulder last night.”


End file.
